Oasis (until I can think of something better)
by yaoiEnthusiast
Summary: "A Homestuck AU in which humans live with mysterious symbiotic creatures called Oasis, and fear the twelve gods that bring them both life and death. A thirteen year old John finds his destiny intertwined with the ageless god, Karkat." That's from the original plot bunny from since I suck at summaries.


Silently, a child stared out of the window of his temporary home, or as he would like to call it, his prison. Locked up all alone for a crime that was neither his fault, nor a crime in itself. Just an unknown fear no one, not even he understood. A pull at his chest sent a chill up his spine. His guest had arrived, the monster who practically sentenced him, the Cancer.

The powerful being watched him for a while. The boy could feel it's glare burning through him but ignored it to the best of his ability. Some part of him felt it was not a good idea to ignore a creature that was quite literally one of his gods but that feeling was stomped down as the child watched his friends roam freely outside.

"John," oh, so the almighty being had decided now was the time to talk. Oh joy. Can you feel that happiness, all of that overwhelming bliss radiating from him? John wished he could. The Cancer growled behind him. "Are you serious right now? If you are, that is really depressing John. It hasn't even been a full three days and I already feel like I'm drowning in your pathetic worthlessness. Could you at least have some consideration for the fact we are now bonded and I can feel everything you do and can hear what you're thinking? In which, how dare you think of me as a monster, you haven't even spoken to me."

John sighed heavily, tuning out whatever else the Cancer had to say. He had heard from legends that the Cancer was verbose but this was already ridiculous. John held back the urge to slam his head into the window sill and went back to watching his friends, all of which had come as close to the church as the priests would currently allow and were presently having an argument. John was so focused on them that he didn't even notice that the Cancer had stopped his rant and moved to stand beside him.

Jade, a girl who could almost be his twin, paced erratically followed closely by her Oasis, Bec. Knowing her, she was probably freaking out about something weird, like if the church didn't have John's' favorite popcorn seasoning or if they didn't have _enough_ computers. Dave and Rose, another two who could've been siblings but weren't, seemed to be handling their emotions better but even from this distance John could tell how Dave's hair was disheveled from fingers running through it and how frantically Rose was knitting, both of their Oases hidden from sight. John sighed for what seemed to be the millionth time and leaned heavily against the window sill, letting a small smile grace his features at the antics of his friends. It soon fell again though as the urge to run to them and squeeze all of them in the best and greatest hug in history overtook him. All he wanted to do was tell them that everything was okay, that he was okay. As far as he knew, the last thing they heard about him was something was wrong with the Zart and now they weren't even allowed near the church. John hated being trapped here _so much_.

"You're not the only one stuck here."

The sudden closeness of the voice tore John's attention from his musings to the deity beside him. He blinked up at the Cancer. "Wha?" How eloquent John, good job. The Cancer didn't seem to notice though, never turning away from the window.

"I said you're not the only one stuck in here. I'm here too and I'm going to be with you for a very long time so we might as well take this time to try to be civil with each other." The Cancer paused and looked down at the human next to him. No, wait. John wasn't just 'the human' anymore, was he? Now he was, is, _his_ human. For some strange reason he wasn't going to look into now, or hopefully ever, he found himself not minding that concept so much. "So? What do you think?"

John gawked at the god for a bit longer before actually studying his features. Now that John thought about it, he had never actually looked at the Cancer even though he had seen him when the god had basically saved him. The Zart had spread almost completely at that point, his vision bleary. He could clearly remember those bright red eyes, but past that, it was all a blur. Now he could fully take in the Cancer's impressive height and dark gray skin. Out of his inky black hair sprouted two orange and yellow horns that were admitted nubby and adorable. If the glare that crossed other's face right then was any indication, he probably shouldn't think that anymore (he was going to as often as possible now). He studied the Cancer for a moment longer before making his decision, the deity had technically saved his life after all. He started toward the bed. "Fine, but you have to answer some of my questions." He sat down and stared at the Cancer expectantly.

The Cancer glared back at John. "Sounds acceptable but _you_ need to stop referring to me as 'The Cancer'. Did it ever occur to you that I might have an actual name and 'Cancer' is just a title? A title that you humans cooked up I might add. Who told you people you could do that by the way? Oh, right, no one. No one did you pretentious assholes. I understand that the earlier humans were attached to their strange zodiac and were looking for something to call us but a fair amount of time has passed, why are you still using those names? At this point it's just insulting. My name is Karkat and I would be more than appreciative if you would call me as such. Just," Karkat took a moment to collect his thoughts, "what do you want to know?"

John looked up at Karkat sheepishly. "I wasn't sure you would actually agree.. Karkat. I guess we could start with, "he took a moment to think, "Why me? Like, why did you help me? Doesn't that kinda trap you here?"

It was Karkat's turn to sigh. "In a way, yes, it does. I can't travel between the plains anymore or go back to my home inside of Aard but…. I helped you because I don't hate you. I don't hate humans." It was Karkat's turn to look sheepish while John looked on in confusion. John had to admit though, with the god avoiding eye contact, shoulders hunched over, and his wings tucked against his back he seemed somewhat less intimidating. It was making adjusting seem a whole lot easier.

"Wait, what does that mean?"

Karkat practically growled, "It means that it's been so long since you humans came that there's no point in hating you, no point in watching you die. You could say I've forgiven you pathetic creatures and I just happened to see a child who had no idea he was doomed to die. The disease you got from your mother made your soul look inhospitable. As inhospitable as your species' dead planet. It's not, I know, I'm currently attached to it, as repulsive as that sounds, but Oases are selfish for the most part. They would've never risked it to save your life if it didn't benefit them. So I helped you. Why not help you, I obviously enjoy torturing myself. What other kind of perfectly sane being makes a contract with an unquestionably inferior entity with the intention of saving it's painfully minescule life but a masochist. Why me of course! Only I would risk being outcasted by all of my peers by pitying something so deplorable. You're welcome by the way, you ingrateful pisspot." By the end of his rant, the familiar scowl was back on Karkat's face, his breathing slightly heavy.

John couldn't help himself, he laughed. "Oh my gods, Karkat! Are you going to be like this all the time? I really hope so." He laughed so hard, he fell back and nearly smashed his head into the wall.

Karkat growled at John again. "Yes, please laugh at my kindness. It's not like I saved your measly existence or anything. I just did all of this because I was bored and wanted someone to howl in mirth at my piteous display of benevolence. Why I could even-"

"Karkat!" The god shot a withering glower toward the boy who dared to interrupt him, ready to deliver a verbal lashing of cosmic proportions, then paused at his human's serene expression. "Thank you. I really am grateful you saved me."

The holy being could only stand in stunned silence for a breath, unable to conjure a fitting reply past 'you're welcome'. The pair stayed in comfortable silence until John hopped with renewed energy for further questioning, "So if you don't hate us, does that mean you don't to feed off our sadness anymore or what?"

Karkat groaned and took a seat, preparing for a very long night. The pair continued to converse, oblivious to the priests monitoring them in their momentary jail cell.


End file.
